LONDON – Aston Villa’s bid to finish in the English Premier League’s top four was rocked by a 1-0 defeat at Brighton and Hove Albion, while Chelsea thrashed West Ham United 5-0 to keep alive their hopes of European qualification on May 5.
A Villa win combined with Tottenham Hotspur’s 4-2 loss at Liverpool in the late game on May 5 would have sealed a Champions League place for Unai Emery’s side.
However, Villa were unable to fulfil their part of that equation, as Brighton forward Joao Pedro’s 87th-minute goal condemned them to a second painful defeat in four days.
Pedro headed in the rebound for his 20th goal of the season in all competitions after Villa goalkeeper Robin Olsen – in for the injured Emiliano Martinez – saved his penalty.
The Brazilian became the first player to score at least 20 goals in a single season for Brighton across all competitions since Glenn Murray (23) in the 2016-17 season.
His winner ended Brighton’s six-match run without victory.
“I’ve missed this feeling, it’s been a long time,” Brighton captain Lewis Dunk told Sky Sports. “We’ve not been good enough but it’s nice to get back to winning ways.”
Villa were well below their best again after they were surprisingly beaten 4-2 by Olympiakos in the Europa Conference League semi-final first leg on May 2.
They were sluggish throughout and Brighton looked to have taken a deserved lead in the 68th minute when Pascal Gross converted a Pedro cross with a clever finish, but the video assistant referee (VAR) ruined his celebrations.
Simon Adingra had been Brighton’s busiest player throughout the game and it was his foray into the box late in the second half which drew a foul from the Villa fullback Ezri Konsa, forcing referee Robert Jones to point to the spot.
Villa remain in fourth place, seven points clear of fifth-placed Tottenham, who still have a game in hand after their defeat at Anfield.
Emery’s men host Liverpool and travel to Crystal Palace in their last two games as they fight to return to Europe’s premier club competition for the first time since 1982-83.
At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea crushed London rivals West Ham to move above Manchester United into seventh place.
Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino is fighting to convince the club’s co-owner Todd Boehly to give him a second season in charge. Pochettino admitted it is “not his decision” if he stays, but securing a place in Europe could be enough to avoid the sack.
Cole Palmer put Chelsea ahead in the 15th minute with his 21st league goal of the season. He is now four goals behind Erling Haaland in the Golden Boot race, while becoming the third player in Premier League history to reach at least 30 goal involvements in a season while aged 21 or younger, after Robbie Fowler and Chris Sutton.
Conor Gallagher doubled the Blues’ advantage after 30 minutes with a blistering volley after West Ham’s Kurt Zouma deflected the ball towards the midfielder.
Noni Madueke bagged Chelsea’s third six minutes later as the winger turned in Thiago Silva’s header from close range. Nicolas Jackson piled on the misery for woeful West Ham in the 48th minute with a tap-in from Madueke’s cross. The Senegal striker was on target again with 10 minutes left.
It was the first time since January that Chelsea had won two league games in a row following a 2-0 victory over Spurs three days ago.
“After the victory against Tottenham and to come back again after a few days is very good,” Pochettino told Sky Sports. “It was a brilliant game, it was amazing. They reacted in the right way. I was so happy how we competed on Thursday and we have talented players to create chances and score goals. We need to keep this momentum and belief going.”
The lopsided nature of defeat did little to quell speculation over the future of West Ham boss David Moyes. The ninth-placed side have reportedly held talks with former Wolverhampton Wanderers boss Julen Lopetegui and could move on from Moyes, whose contract expires at the end of the season.
